Although crab roe buns originated in the south, not everyone in a southern city knows how to make them.
There are few people on this island who know how to do it, and Liu Lan, being from the north, naturally knew even less about it.
"It's crab roe. I finally managed to collect it. I learned how to make it from a fellow villager here, so I decided to give it a try," Fang Yuan said with a smile.
She didn't make crab roe soup dumplings, but crab roe and pork dumplings.
Crab roe and crab meat make up one-third of the dish, pork makes up one-third, and scallions and cabbage make up the other third.
There's no way around it; it's not easy to buy meat on an island, and you can't buy too much at once. If you don't have enough meat, you can only add side dishes.
"Crab roe? That's a good thing too. You don't even need to try it, I'm sure you've made something great. These old men are in luck."
Liu Lan was quite confident in Fang Yuan's cooking skills, after all, she had eaten there several times.
She felt that among all the military wives, Fang Yuan's cooking skills were definitely the best.
"Sister-in-law, please don't praise me too much, or I'll become arrogant," Fang Yuan replied with a smile.
Her culinary skills rely on the combination of seasonings and the support of spatial products, but to be honest, they are definitely not comparable to those of chefs who serve at state banquets.
However, the military wives here are definitely not as good as hers.
The two chatted as they made steamed buns, this time making forty large ones.
Since there was no filling left, Fangyuan simply made the remaining dough into steamed buns and steamed them together.
She also steamed a small pot of rice so that people from both the north and south could be taken care of.
Pick up the steamed buns and mantou, put them in a sieve, cover them, and place them on a basin of boiling water to keep them warm.
Once the big pot is ready, it's time to start cooking.
Fangyuan quickly cuts vegetables, side dishes, and seasonings.
Seeing her preparing so many things, Liu Lan teased, "No wonder your cooking is so good. With so many ingredients in one dish, how could it not be delicious?"
"You're absolutely right. This dish tastes better with lots of ingredients. I used to like to experiment with these things when I had nothing to do at home."
"You're just cut out for this job, even your chopped vegetables look beautiful," Liu Lan said with a smile as she sat in front of the stove tending the fire.
Because Liu Lan was here, Fang Yuan's plan to smuggle the vegetables out of the space was thwarted.
They had no choice but to pretend to smuggle vegetables out from various corners of the room to cut and cook them on the spot.
The aroma of the stir-fried dishes filled the entire kitchen.
"It smells so good! Every dish looks delicious. I wonder where you learned to cook?"
Smelling the aroma, Liu Lan was truly impressed by Fang Yuan's craftsmanship.
"I already said it was just something I figured out on my own. I put in a lot of oil, so it's bound to taste better," Fang Yuan said modestly.
She not only put in a lot of oil, but also a lot of other seasonings and ingredients. How could it not taste good?
The people here are so stingy with oil, how can their dishes possibly taste good?
"Exactly, it breaks my heart to see you pour such a big spoonful of oil into the pot. It doesn't matter if it doesn't taste good, I just can't bear to waste oil like that."
Liu Lan spoke directly and frankly.
She did feel sorry for Fang Yuan's actions of applying oil, but as an outsider, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to say too much, so she could only try to lower her head and not look.
"By the way, I've already tidied up the table, but we'll have to wait for your Zhao Qingzhuo to move it."
Looking at the already cooked dishes, Liu Lan slapped her thigh and said.
She said she forgot something, apparently she forgot to move the table over.
"It's okay, I'll go move it."
Fang Yuan put down the two plates of stir-fried green peppers and shredded pork and said.
"What are you moving? What are you doing, a pregnant woman, moving a table? Let your man move it."
Upon hearing Fang Yuan's words, Liu Lan immediately objected, "Does this girl really think she's a man?"
"Okay, I'll wait for Zhao Qingzhuo to come back before moving, alright?"
Fang Yuan then remembered that she was currently portraying herself as a vulnerable pregnant woman.
Although she didn't feel anything wrong with her body, touching her already showing belly, she decided to stay put for a few more months.
After all, these two children have already suffered enough with her.
Just then, Zhao Qingzhuo returned.
"It smells so good! Is everything ready?"
He could smell the aroma from afar and guessed that his family was cooking. The aroma became even stronger as he entered the house, so he went straight into the kitchen.
"You're back. Perfect timing. Go to your neighbor's house and move a table," Fang Yuan said to him directly.
"OK!"
Zhao Qingzhuo nodded, and when he went next door to move a table, he also brought the three kids from next door with him.
There's one table inside the house, and another one in the yard; the two should be about right.
"I bought two bottles of wine, but I don't know if that's enough. Should you drink inside or outside?" Fang Yuan took out two more bottles of Wuliangye and handed them to him.
Zhao Qingzhuo smiled and accepted the two bottles of fine wine his wife had bought, feeling incredibly happy.
After looking around the room, he said, "Those who want to drink can sit outside. The weather is nice today, so let's sit outside."
He then placed the wine bottle on the table outside.
It was a group of grown men, and the weather was nice, so sitting outside to drink allowed the smells to dissipate, which was just right.
"Okay, then I'll bring the dishes out."
Stir-fried razor clams with ginger and scallions, steamed yellow croaker, steamed scallops, spicy crab legs, shredded pork with green peppers, braised pork, stir-fried eggs with chives, stir-fried cabbage with pork cracklings, and loofah and egg soup.
Eight dishes and a soup, each containing meat, was considered a very high-class meal in those days.
After Fang Yuan served the dishes, the residents from the surrounding area came in one after another.
There was no way they could resist the aroma; they couldn't help but be drawn to it.
Upon entering and seeing the dishes on the table, the group could hardly believe their eyes.
"There are... so many dishes?"
Team leader Zhang Qiguo's eyes widened as he looked at the table full of dishes.
Most of these are meat dishes, no wonder they smell so good.
"Wow, this meal must have been quite expensive! Just eat whatever you like, there's no need for so many dishes," Political Commissar Zhou Changjiang chimed in.
There's another table in the room; we'll eat all this meat and vegetables in one meal.
Are these two planning to go on a vegetarian diet for the next few months?
That would be so embarrassing!
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